This invention relates to hospital equipment and more particularly to an apparatus for holding and bathing a hospital patient or other person unable to make use of ordinary bathing fixtures. The apparatus is designed to facilitate transfer of the patient from bed to bath, bathing, drying, return of the patient to the bed, and discharge of the used bath water.
In hospital or sick-room operation, one of the more difficult manipulative tasks is that of patient handling and transfer in connection with bathing and body cleansing operations. Many patients are unable to bathe themselves or to travel to a suitable bathing station. Although portable bathing units are available, they do not generally have sufficient water capacity to provide an adequate immersion bath, being primarily designed for use as a sponge bath.
It is an object of this invention to provide a portable bath tub unit for immersion bathing of hospital patients.
Another object of the invention is to provide a portable bath tub unit which can be positioned adjacent to a hospital bed with the patient receiving means on the same level as the bed to facilitate transfer of the patient from bed to bath.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bath tub unit which can be easily and conveniently moved from hospital room to bathing station, filled with water and emptied by means of standard hospital plumbing fixtures and equipment.
These and other related objects are achieved by providing a bath tub unit comprising a tub or water-containing reservoir generally resembling a standard home bath tub large enough to receive substantially all of the body and lower extremities of a patient; a frame to support and carry the tub, the frame being vertically adjustable, a body receiving and supporting platform which can be adjustably positioned within the tub; means for operating the unit by independently raising and lowering the framd and immersing the patient within the tub, and wheel means for moving the unit from place to place.
More specifically, the bathing unit of this invention comprises a tub or water reservoir suspended within a frame, mechanical means for vertically positioning the frame and associated tub; an immersible patient bathing rack or platform positioned at or slightly above the rim of the tub with associated means for lowering and raising the rack relative to the depths of the tub, wheel means on the frame for moving the unit from one location to another.